Keyboard for typewriters



y 1937. R. G. BOWER KEYBOARD FOR TYPEWRITERS Filed July 6, 1936 INVENTOREa mam/6.30am! AT dRNEYs Patented May 18, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE KEYBOARD FO R TYPEWRITERS Application July 6, 1936, Serial No.88,957

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a typewriter and it has to do moreparticularly with a keyboard therefor. It has been found by recognizedfrequency count that the letters E, T, A, I, 0, N, R, S, H, and D of thealphabet, of importance in the order named, constitute approximately 70per cent of the letters used in-writing the English language. In thepresent standard keyboard, the keys representing the foregoing lettersare so arranged 10 that, under approved touch methods of typing,

the work done in the normal hand and finger positions without reachingfor another key or into another key bank is approximately 25 per cent,with the left hand doing approximately about four times the amount ofwork done by the right hand. The majority of operators are right-handedand in most instances typewriter carriages are returned and line spacedby the left hand. Consequently, with the standard keyboard, the mostwork is imposed on the weaker and less dexterous hand and fingers whichreduces the ease and speed of operation.

Typewriter keyboards are usually arranged so that there are threehorizontal banks or rows of letter keys which are segregated laterallyinto diagonal rows according to approved touch methods of typing. Thesediagonal rows include keys operated by a single finger. In the presentstandard keyboard, the middle key bank or row is the normal guide rowand only four of the more important letter keys A, S, D and H arelocated in this normal hand position. It will be seen, therefore, that,in the present standard keyboard, it is necessary to reach in order tooperate the keys representing the important letters E, R, T, I, O and Nwhich represent more work than the other important keys in the middle'ornormal hand position bank. For mechanical reasons and due to fingerpositions of the touch method, the 40 finger reaches between certainkeys vary. For example, on the present standard keyboard, the distancebetween J and Y operated by the index finger of the right hand isgreater than K and I operated by the middle finger of that hand; and inall diagonal rows of keys, or those operated by the same finger underthe touch method, the reach from the middle row key to'the upper key isless than the reach from the middle row key to the lower one. Thisnecessity for reaching with the standard keyboard arrangement requiresconsiderable hand movement on the part of the operator and such movementcoupled with the awkwardness of some of the finger reaches 55 naturallyslows up the work of the operator and hand which tends to further reducespeed, ease requires great skill for combined speed and accuracy intyping.

It has also been found by recognized frequency count that the moreimportant two-letter combinations used in writing the English language 5are, in the order named, ER, TH, EH, IN, IT, ES, EN, ON, OR, ED, AT, OF,AR,.AN, ST, OT, ET, IS, AL, EL and NG, in the letter sequence stated orvice versa. In writing all these combinations with the present standardkeyboard, 0 except AL, the operator is required to reach from one keybank to another thereby requiring increased skill for efficient andspeedy operation.

Another factor in reducing speed of operation in the present standardkeyboard is the neces- 15 sity of striking succeeding important keyswith the same finger; Such a condition exists in the present standardkeyboard, for example, in writiim ED. In this case finger reach isnecessary by the same finger thereby making the operation slower thanwhen different fingers are used because, in the latter case, one fingeris striking while the other is moving into position to strike thesucceeding key.

Still further, in the present standard keyboard, 25 and according toapproved touch methods of typing, the A and colon keys at the oppositeends of the center key bank serve as guide positions, the operatorfinding the proper key positions on the keyboard from these keys whichare 30 operated by the left and right little fingers, respectively. Withthis arrangement, the letter A, third in frequency importance, isoperated by the least dexterous finger on the less dexterous 35 andaccuracy in operation.

It'is known that type bar collision, which is caused by two type barsengaging each other as they move to and from printing position, is afactorhaving to do with the speed that may be attained in the operationof a typewriter. The higher the point of collision, or the nearer to theprinting point it takes place, the more rapidly the keys may be struckand, hence, the greater 45 the speed in printing. Also, the greater thelateral distance between successive key operations, the nearer thecollision point is to the printing point. It has been found that inwriting certain important two-letter combinations 50 with the presentstandard keyboard, the point of collision is quite low or remote fromthe printing point since the successively operated keys are closelyadjacent to each other in lateral direction. This adds another limit tothe speed of operation of a typewriter with the present standardkeyboard.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an improvedkeyboard for a typewriter and by which all of the foregoingobjectionable features are practically eliminated.

Another object is to provide an improved keyboard which is adapted to beoperated according to the finger positions of approved touch systems andby which increased typing speed is attained with greater ease inoperation and with less skill.

A further object is to provide a keyboard having a plurality of banks ofkeys wherein the greater amount of work done is concentrated in normalfinger or guide positions in one bank of keys thereby reducing fingermovement to the minimum; and the work is distributed between the rightand left hands and fingers in proportion to frequency of occurrence ofthe letters in writing the English language and also according to thestrength and dexterity of the hands and fingers whereby the right handdoes more work than the left hand and the work done by the fingersdecreases somewhat uniformly from the index to the little finger.

An additional object is to lessen the occurrence of type collision.

Other objects and advantages will appear as this description progressesand by reference to the drawing which is a plan view of one form ofkeyboard embodying this invention.

It is to be understood that this invention has utility in various formsof typewriters. Merely for the purposes of this description, it will beunderstood that the keyboard-illustrated is well suited for a typwriterincluding a traveling paper carriage, a case-shiftable platen and typebar mechanism including a plurality of type bars supported by anarcuate-shaped type bar segment for swinging movement toward and fromthe platen.

The type bars are actuated by depressible key levers l0 connected to thetype bars by cranks (not shown). Keys II are mounted at the forward orkeyboard ends of the key levers ID for the depression of the latter tomove the type bars to the printing point.

According to this invention, and as illustrated in the drawing, thekeyboard is defined by a frame member l2 and the keys I l are arrangedin horizontal rows or banks. Some of these keys actuate type bars forprinting letters of the alphabet and others actuate type bars forprinting numerals and other characters.

The letter keys are arranged in three rows l3, I4 and I5, which will bereferred to, respectively, herein as the upper, middle and lower rows orbanks. The top row or bank of keys I6 may be employed for numerals orother characters and this is likewise true of the right end keys l1, l8and IQ of the upper, middle and lower banks. The rightand left-hand keys20 are used for case shifting purposes and may be connected to the caseshift mechanism (not shown) in any suitable manner. The .rightandleft-hand keys 2| are case shift lock keys which cooperate with theframe carried members 22 for locking the case shift mechanism in caseshifted position.

The middle key bank M which is in the normal hand position, includes themore important letters used in writing the English language and theseletters are arranged according to frequency of occurrence so that thekeys representing the same will be actuated by fingers of the right andleft hands according to the strength and dexterity of the latter. Moreparticularly, I arranged the middle bank of keys to include, readingfrom left to right of the drawing, the letter keys R, S, A,

T, D, H, N, E, O and I. In this arrangement I employ the letters R, S, Aand T in four guide positions for the left hand and the letters N, E, Oand I in four guide positions for the right hand, whereby most of thework is concentrated in eight finger or guide positions wherein reachingof hand or finger shift is not required.

The upper key band I3, where less reach is required as compared to thelower key bank l5, includes the keys which are of next importance; andin the lower key bank l5, which is more difficult to reach, I place thekeys which are of least importance. More particularly, the upper keybank includes, from left to right, the letter keys W, C, U, M, G, P, L,Q, Y and B, while the lower key bank includes, from left to right, theletter keys J, K, F, X, Z, V and the keys for printing the semicolon,period, question mark, etc.

According to approved touch methods of typing, the keys to be struck bythe same finger of the same hand are arranged in diagonal rows laterallyof the keyboard as, for example, the letter keys J, R and W. Readingfrom left to right of the drawing, the first three diagonal rows areadapted to be operated by the little, third and middle fingers of theleft hand respectively, while the next two diagonal rows are adapted tobe operated by the index finger of the left hand. The succeeding twodiagonal rows are adapted to be operated by the index finger of theright hand the remaining three rows by the middle, third and littlefingers of the right hand, respectively,

Several advantages are attained in the use of a keyboard embodying myinvention, Each key is located in a definite position relative to thehands and fingers of the operator so that the keys most frequently usedare the ones in the most convenient positions to be depressed therebyeliminating unnecessary hand movement. The more important letter keys,or-the keys which are used most frequently in writing the Englishlanguage, are disposed in the middle key bank or row whereby most of thework is done in the normal hand position without reaching. In fact,

it has been found that, in the use of this inven- I tion, approximately61% (28% ,left hand and 33% right hand) of the work may be done in theeight guide positions of the middle key bank, and approximately of thework may be done without movement of the fingers from the middle bank.Reach will be required by the fingers into the upper key bank I3 indoing approximately 20% of the work and only about 10% of the work willrequire reaching into the lower bank l5; whereas with the presentstandard keyboard 49% of the work will require reaching into theupperkey bank and 19% into the lower key bank.

Still further, in the use of this invention, the left hand will dosomewhat less work than the right hand, with the index fingers of bothhands doing more work than the other fingers of the respective hands.Also, the work done by the middle, third and little fingers of bothhands will do proportionately decreasing work; whereby, the work to bedone is not only arranged according to frequency count but alsoaccording to the dexterity of both the hands and the fingers. Forexample, it is found by frequency count that about 47% of the work willbe done by the left hand and 53% by the right hand with the index fingerof the left hand doing approximately 16% of the work, the left middlefinger 13%, the left third finger 10% and the left little finger 3%, theright index finger 18%, the right middle finger 15%, the right thirdfinger 11%, and the right little finger 9%. On the other hand, in thepresent standard keyboard, about 55% of the work is done by the lefthand and 45% by the right without the work being divided among thefingers according to strength and dexterity. It will be understood thatall of the percentages hereinabove given are approximate and accordingto recognized frequency counts, and that they are not to be consideredas limiting since they are given comparatively with the present standardkeyboard and since they may vary somewhat under certain frequencyconditions without departing from my invention.

It will be further noted that in the use of my keyboard practically allof the more important two-letter combinations are written in thenorsuccessive letters of important two-letter combinations.

In a typewriter construction wherein the type bars are supported by anarcuate-shaped type bar segment, the point at which the type barscollide with each other in moving to a common printing point isdetermined by the lateral distance between the type bar mountings on thesegment. This spacing is governed, in part, by the location of therespective keys in the keyboard.

According to this invention, theletter keys are so relatively arrangedthat, with respect to the more important letter and two-lettercombinations, the point of colision of the respective type bars is movedcloser to the printing point whereby greater speed may be attained. Inmy keyboard, even though some of the keys of the more importanttwo-letter combinations are adjoining each other, namely; SA, AT, NE andOI, there is no instance in which the key levers of important two-lettercombinations are adjoining each other. On the other hand, with thepresent standard keyboard, there are instances wherein the key levers ofimportant two-letter combinations are adjoining each other; for example,the combination ED. Consequently, there is less danger of early type barcollision with my keyboard arrangement than with the keyboardarrangement of the present standard typewriter, thereby increasing thespeed of a typewriter equipped with my keyboard over a typewriter havinga standard keyboard.

The foregoing features enable an operator to learn typing more quickly;greater speed may be attained; and less dexterity is required to attaingreater typing speed. Also, greater typing accuracy is assured.

I claim:

1. In a typewriter keyboard, three banks or horizontal rows of keys, theseveral keys of said banks or rows being so arranged that the middle rowor bank contains the letter keys R, S, A, T, D, H, N, E, 0 and Iarranged consecutively, the upper row or bank contains the letter keysW, C,

U, M, G, P, L, Q, Y and B, and the lower row or bank contains the letterkeys J, K, F, X, Z and V.

2. In a typewriter keyboard, three banks or horizontal rows of keys, theseveral keys of said banks or rows being so arranged that the middle rowor bank contains the letter keys R, S, A, T, D, H, N, E, O and Iarranged consecutively from left to right across the keyboard, the upperrow or bank contains the letter keys W, C, U, M, G, P, L, Q, Y and B,arranged consecutively from left to right across the keyboard and thelower row or bank contains the letter keys J, K, F, X, Z and V arrangedconsecutively from left to right across the keyboard.

3. In a typewriter keyboard, three banks or horizontal rows of keys, themiddle of said banks containing the letter keys R, S, A, T, D, H, N, E,O and I, said letter keys R, S, A and T being located in four guidepositions for the left hand to be actuated by the little, third, middleand index fingers, respectively, and the letter keys N, E, O and I beinglocated in four guide positions for the right hand to be actuated by theindex, middle, third and little fingers, respectively, the remainingletter keys being arranged in the other two rows or banks located on theopposite sides of said middle row.

4. In a keyboard for typewriters, three horizontal rows or banks ofletter keys, the middle of said rows containing the letter keys R, S, A,T, D, H, N, E, O and I, the letter keys R, S, A, T on the left and N, E,O, I on the right serving as guide keys being adapted to be struck bythe little, third, second and index fingers of the left hand and theindex, second, third and little fingers of the right hand, respectively,the letter keys D and H alsobeing arranged to be struck by the indexfingers of the left and right hands, respectively, reaching in themiddle row, the remaining letter keys being arranged in the rows on theopposite sides of said middle row with the letter keys of leastimportance in the lowermost row.

5. In a typewriter keyboard, upper, lower and middle banks or horizontalrows of keys, said middle bank containing the letter keys R, S, A, T, D,H, N, E, O and I in the order named reading from left to right as viewedfrom the front of the keyboard, said letter keys R and I beingpositioned for actuation by the little fingers, S and O by the thirdfingers, A and E by the middle fingers andTD and RN by the index fingersof the left and right hands, respectively, the remaining letter keysbeing arranged in the upper and lower rows on opposite sides of saidmiddle row with the letter keys of least importance, including J, K, X,Z and V arranged in the lower row.

6. In a typewriter keyboard having upper, lower and intermediate andlaterally spaced banks of letter keys, the intermediate bank containing,from left to right, the letter keys R, S, A, T, D, H, N, E, O and I, theupper of said banks containing from left to right the letter keys W, C,U, M, G, P, L, Q, Y and B, and the lower of said banks containing, fromleft to right, the letter keys J, K, F, X, Z and V, the keys of saidbanks being arranged to provide diagonal rows of letter keys consisting,reading from the upper to the lower banks, of the keys WRJ, CSK, UAF,

MTX, GDZ, PHV, LN, QE, Y0 and BI.-

7. In a typewriterkeyboard having a plurality of key rows, anintermediate row having four left-hand guide letter keys RSAT for thelittle,

third, middle and index fingers, respectively, and four right hand guideletter keys NEOI for the index, middle, third and little fingers,respectively, said letter keys being so arranged in said row that thetwo-letter combinations ER, IN, IT, ES, EN, ON, OR, AT, AR, AN, ST, OT,ET and IS are adapted to be actuated by different fingers according tothe standard touch method and without movement of the hands and fingersfrom said hand guide positions, the remaining letter keys, excepting Dand H, being arranged in rows on the opposite sides of said intermediaterow.

8. In a typewriter for writing the English alphabet, a keyboardcontaining three banks of letter keys, the intermediate bank containingin the order named reading from left to right the keys R, S, A, T, D, H,N, E, O, I, the upper bank containing in the order named reading fromleft to right the keys W, C, U, M, G, P, L, Q, Y and B, and the lowerbank containing in the order named reading from left to right the keysJ, K, F, X, Z, V, semicolon, period and comma, in which keyboard theletter key banks are so arranged that the letter keys are disposed indiagonal rows for operation in accord with the touch method of typing,the arrangement being such that the V, H, P, L, N and semicolon, keysare adapted to be actuated by the index finger of the right hand, the X,T, M, G, D and Z keys by the index finger of the left hand, the Q, E andperiod keys by the middle finger of the right hand, the U, A and F keysby the middle finger of the left hand, and the remaining keys by thethird and little fingers of the right and left hands.

9. In a typewriter for writing the English 9.1-

phabet, a keyboard having upper, lower and intermediate horizontal rowsof letter keys wherein the several letter keys for the alphabet are soarranged that the R, S, A, T, N, E, O andI keys 'may be struck bydifierent fingers without shift of the fingers or hands in any directionother than striking, the D and H letter keys may be struck by shift ofthe index fingers within the intermediate row, the letter keys W, C, U,M, G, P, L, Q, Y and B may be struck by fingers reaching into the upperrow, and the letter keys J, K, F, X, Z and V may be struck by reaching asomewhat greater distance into the lower row.

RAYMOND G. BOWER.

